Consumer Council Urges Ulster Bank To Expedite Redress Procedure
Wednesday 1 August 2012
Following a meeting with Ulster Bank today the CEO of the Consumer Council, Antoinette McKeown has urged the bank to expedite the redress procedure for customers who have been affected by the disruption and difficulties at the bank.
“The Consumer Council is very concerned about the length of time it has taken the Ulster Bank to communicate a redress procedure with customers. While we appreciate that the procedure is complicated due to the length of the disruption and the amount of customers affected, it is essential that customers are now given reassurance.”
"Consumer confidence must be restored but this can only happen if the redress procedure is easy to understand, the burden on customers is minimised and those customers who have experienced exceptional difficulties also have their issues addressed."
"We have also expressed our concern to Ulster Bank regarding vulnerable consumers who might have difficulty understanding or accessing the redress scheme and we have provided the bank with what we hope is helpful advice in that regard."
"The Consumer Council is now advising customers to start getting together any receipts or other evidence of how their account was affected during the technical difficulties. As previously stated by Ulster Bank any fees or charges applied to accounts as a result of the difficulties will be automatically refunded, but consumers need to start taking note of out-of-pocket expenses and take a note of other financial losses. Examples might include the cost of phone calls, bus or taxi fares or having to borrow money from other sources to tide you over and the disruption caused by taking time off work to sort out urgent problems. It would also be useful to document how you have been impacted personally for example if your debit card has been refused at a checkout in a supermarket causing embarrassment."
"The Consumer Council welcomes the fact that the Ulster Bank is consulting with us on this redress procedure to ensure that consumers, particularly vulnerable consumers are dealt with fairly. As the redress procedure is in draft form we do not feel that it is in the consumers interests to share the detail until Ulster Bank can provide consumers with definitive and complete information. This is why we are urging Ulster Bank to finalise and publish the redress procedure and communicate it with customers as quickly as possible."
Ends
1. Consumer Council media contact: Pauline Gordon, telephone, 028 9067 4813 or 079 0997 2704 or e-mail, pgordon@consumercouncil.org.uk
2. The Consumer Council is an independent consumer organisation, working to bring about change to benefit Northern Ireland's consumers. The Council campaigns for high standards of service and protection and a fair deal for all. It also carries out research, gives advice and publishes reports and other publications. It deals with individual complaints about buses, trains, planes, ferries, natural gas, electricity, coal and water.
3. For more information, visit our website at www.consumercouncil.org.uk
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